Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will offer to the Government of Botswana assistance in translocation of elephants to peaceful countries in Africa which wish to replenish elephant populations depleted by war and poaching.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Morris, dated 27 March 2007.
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Question about the contribution that Manchester makes to the growth and prosperity of the economy of the North West of England and how this compares to the contribution made by other parts of the region. (HL2749)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes regional gross value added using official statistical geographies known as Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS)1. Greater Manchester is one such NUTS area and its statistics can be compared to the other North West areas: Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside.
	The measure of economic growth used by the ONS is growth of gross value added (GVA). Table 1 shows GVA for the North West and for each NUTS2 area within the North West. The latest available estimates are for 2004. This table indicates the level of economic activity in Greater Manchester as compared to the other North West areas. Table 2 shows annual growth for 2003 and 2004 in GVA for the same areas.
	Regional GVA figures are only produced at current prices and do not allow for changes in prices over time (inflation) or differences in regional price levels (purchasing power). They do not, therefore, show growth in real or volume terms.
	The full range of published regional GVA estimates are available on the ONS website: www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14650.
	1. The Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) provides a single uniform breakdown for the production of regional statistics for the European Union. There are three levels of NUTS in the UK. These are:
	NUTS1: Government Office Regions and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	NUTS2: 37 areas—individual and groups of counties and unitary authorities.
	NUTS3: 133 areas—generally groups of unitary authorities or districts, also known as local areas.
	
		
			 Table 1   
			 North West Regional Gross Value Added1   
			  2003 (£m) 2004 (£m) 
			 North West 96 828 102 366 
			 Cumbria 6 047 6 440 
			 Cheshire 17 361 18 183 
			 Greater Manchester 38 109 40 457 
			 Lancashire 19 215 20 285 
			 Merseyside 16 096 17 001 
			 1 GVA at current basic prices   
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2   
			 North West Regional Gross Value Added1 Percentage Change   
			 GVA percentage change 2003 2004 
			 North West 5.4% 5.7% 
			 Cumbria 6.6% 6.5% 
			 Cheshire 4.2% 4.7% 
			 Greater Manchester 5.8% 6.2% 
			 Lancashire 5.1% 5.6% 
			 Merseyside 5.7% 5.6% 
			 1. GVA at current basic prices.   
			 Note: The percentage change in Table 2 does not take account of changes in population which can be seen in Table 1 of your previous question (HL2635).

Lord Triesman: No reliable figures exist for the total number of persons who have died or been injured across Darfur as a result of the conflict there. However, a frequently-quoted, and plausible, figure for the number of deaths is 200,000.
	The UN estimates that there are currently 2,060,000 displaced people in Darfur and a further 220,000 living as refugees in neighbouring Chad.
	Every death, injury, displacement or rape in Sudan is a tragedy. That is why we are pressing the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups to stop the fighting, to agree to the deployment of the UN-African Union hybrid force in Darfur, to commit to and implement the Darfur peace agreement, and to ensure full humanitarian access for the UN and non-governmental organisations in Darfur.